Felix Seafood Grill — Restaurant in Basildon

We came away from having dinner at Felix with mixed feelings, having gone there on the recommendation of friends.

Plus Points: The food! Excellent, they obviously have a very talented chef in the kitchen. No complaints at all about the quality or quantity.

Negatives: The Service. After finishing my starter, I was left with a bowl of delicious garlic & chilli sauce; not wishing to waste it, I asked the waitress for a bread roll to mop it up. ‘No’, was the response. ‘A slice a bread maybe?’ Also ‘No’. ‘A spoon then?’ ..... yes, she could let me have a spoon.

On asking why I could not have a bread roll, I was told that as they did not bake them, they would not supply them. What a curious reason. They surely don’t pickle their own olives, do they? Or land their own fish? Or slaughter their own pigs?

That, and the fact the waiters / waitresses were attired in jeans rather than a uniform and who, between serving, gathered around the bar to chatter amongst themselves in a group - and that despite the restaurant being less than half full, another table of diners was placed right next to ours (so we had to listen to their conversations) rather than keeping an empty table inbetween diners as there was plenty of spare capacity.

I also don’t appreciate the automatic addition of a ‘discretionary’ 10% service charge, when the customer is placed in the unenviable position of having to dispute the quality of service on what should be a pleasant evening out.

The cynic in me suspects that the refusal to supply rolls with the meal is more aimed at getting the customer to order a dessert, which they might not do if they’d filled up on bread? And the automatic addition of 10% service charge is because they rely on the fact that few customers are willing to spoil their evening out with an altercation.

For a restaurant which seems to be aiming for the Smith’s (Ongar) end of the market, the management at Felix could do worse than having a dinner there - and taking away some lessons on how it might be done better.

Anyway, curiosity satisfied ..... unlikely to return ..... will stick...

We visited Felix after being told it was the standard of Smith's in Ongar. So we went on a Sunday lunch time. However apart from the prices the standards stop there. On arrival we were greeted and our coats taken and we were shown to our table. The decor of the restaurant is very stylish and it is very clean too. Our waiter took the drinks order so my husband ordered a coke and I asked for an elderflower drink which I have in many pubs and restaurants. He didn't have a clue so I ended up with come cordial and lemonade. So onto the starters! I ordered a pear and walnut salad which upon eating I realised there was no pear in it. I called the waitress over to explain and rather than whip it away and apologise as would have happened in Smith's, she asked if I wanted her to take it back to the kitchen? Seemed an odd question and made me feel awkward. Anyhow the starter came back and was all fine and very tasty. Our table was next to the kitchen in the corner so at first we thought it was a good location but it wasn't. A lot of waitress activity past our table and also the meeting point of the waitresses so they stand and chat and it feels like all their eyes are on you. I digress, the mains came and I was given beans that I didn't order and was challenged that I didn't order them. She literally went to another waitress in earshot for it to be confirmed that it wasn't the vegetable that I ordered. So I had to wait while my husband tucked into his lovely roast dinner. The said vegetable came and my dinner was very tasty. Lastly the dessert. I opted just for truffles which were divine. My husband ordered chocolate fudge cake which was dry and the caramelised banana was just slosh. We felt we couldn't call them over again as was getting embarrassing! All in all I think the waiting staff are very young and don't quite have that confident customer service or know how to deal with things when they don't go quite right. We will stick eating...

Went on Sunday for lunch for 2 without reservation and was told there is a table available if we manage to free it within 2 hours. The service was nice, though it seemed somewhat forgetful with some drinks as well as offering the menu for soft drinks at the same time as the wine menu. Fresh and juicy scallops and squid were lovely for starters. Mains had some mistakes, if I'm allowed to call them so, considering the price range for this restaurant: surf and turf had the beef fillet overcooked and the tiger prawns were too small and overcooked; did let the server know about the beef being overcooked and the manager came before we were handed the bill and offered the mocktails free of charge as a way to excuse the main; we've thanked and accepted; scallops and monkfish also as main surprised me due to overcooking the fish, but not the scallops (oddly enough these were smaller in size than ones asked as starter); this second main seemed to me that the portion as a whole was too small for the price range. Didn't want to have any alcoholic beverages and the server attending didn't seem to know much about the offered drinks. That's a pitty. Altogether it's been a good experience, though kind of expensive for what's offered. Will go back, maybe the second time the experience...